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Saif, one of my students who lives in Meknes, invited me to his home tomorrow for the Feast of Sacrifice. He said that if I got there early enough, I could take photos of the actual sacrifice. Well, I don’t know . . . but, maybe. I promise I won’t post anything here that might offend delicate eyes. I went to his apartment earlier tonight so that I can find my way there tomorrow on my bicycle. We took a taxi, since he lives on the outskirts of the main city, a bit of a way out there. I asked where they would kill the sheep, and, apparently, they will do it on the roof of the apartment building. Anyway, it should be an interesting day. I ate the evening meal there, dining on Berber bread (his family’s ethnic origin is Berber), dates, olives, and harira (Morocco’s bean soup). He lives with his mother, father (a retiree from the Moroccan army), a 17-year old brother and a sister, who is leaving in a few weeks to join her husband in Montreal. By all accounts, there are quite a large number of Moroccans living and working in other countries, especially in Europe, due to its proximity, but also in Canada.
It rained for a few hours while I was there, but it’s supposed to clear up by tomorrow. Walking back from the taxi stand, I was quite cold–almost felt like Montana on a warm winter’s day. Ok, maybe not THAT cold. 
I read an article on BBC News today about National Voodoo Day in Benin, Africa, a small country I had the pleasure to work in during my brief Peace Corps experience back in 2000. Read it here. I spent many a hot, sunny day on the beach in Ouidah, along with Karen, Chris, Erin, Craig, Tuve and other PC friends. Brings back a tear or two, doesn’t it, gang. More later.
Whew! Lots of stuff going on to write about.
First, John did come to Meknes last Saturday and we went to Ifrane and Azrou, located in the foothills of the Middle Atlas Mountains, in a quest for snow. We found some, but not enough to remind me of a Montana winter.
However, it was a gorgeous day, making for a memorable drive through the foothills of the Middle Atlas range. We drove through Ifrane, a Swiss-style village near the Mischliffen ski area, about 60 kilometers south-east of Meknes. Then it was on to Le Cedre Gouraud, a forest of ancient cedar trees, quite beautiful, inhabited by a pack of Barbary Apes. Different from Thai monkeys, they were very amiable and non-aggressive, but I was surprised that they lived this far north in Africa. Of course, Gibraltar, not all that far away, is overrun with the critters.
This is pastoral country, calming and soothing, and shepherding is still a prominent way of life, as it is in much of Morocco. So, while hiking one of the dirt roads, we weren’t surprised to wander into one of the ubiquitous flocks. Thankfully, the protecting dogs weren’t too concerned with us.
Just outside of Ifrane is the Moroccan national sports training center. John is quite a runner and is very knowledgeable about the subject. So, when we drove past a few guys jogging down the road, he pointed out their style, that this or that runner used his arms too much, etc. But then he was surprised at the sight of one of the runners, who, he thought, looked exactly like Hicham El Guerrouj (aka El G.), a double gold-medal winner in the 2004 Summer Olympics and a Moroccan national hero. The fellow, lank and wiry, was zooming along at a fair pace and hardly breaking a sweat, making me envious of his abilities. My maximum jogging pace would appear as walking in comparison to his graceful strides.
We then drove to Azrou, a very picturesque Berber village of about 50,000, nestled in the forested hills, about 20 kms from Ifrane. We stopped and bought a few beautiful, handcrafted wood products at the local municipal-run bazaar, some excellent deals for bowls, dishes, jewelry boxes and chess boards. The wonderful thing about this place, for me, is that all the prices are fixed, which means NO HAGGLING. I hate haggling because 1) I’m bad at it and because 2) I don’t speak good French (or Arabic or Berber).
The view from just outside Azrou:
On the way back we stopped at Boufekrane, about 12 kms from Meknes, a village reknowned throughout Morocco for the quality of its meat, a Guy’s Lolo Creek Steakhouse of North Africa, more or less. We ate at one of the small restaurants and, as advertised, the beef and lamb were great. We had brochettes (bbq beef chunks), lamb chops, and superb spiced ground beef. All in all, it was an excellent outing.
Since Monday, though, I’ve been hassling with getting my Moroccan national identity card. Mohammed and I have been running around in circles gathering all the relevant documents and signatures. This was supposed to have been taken care of by someone, whose name I won’t mention, at the U.S. Consulate in Rabat. Just a day before my visa was to expire, he phoned me and said that I was to take care of it. Not good. There was some concern about the possibility that I might be told to leave the country. However, after much footwork and driving around, it seems the situation has turned out ok. I’m to go to the authorities tomorrow and give them the required documents (5 altogether, in duplicate, notarized, with 9 passport-sized photos) and the identity card will be taken care of. Despite the hassle, the local Moroccan authorities have been most accomodating.
Because of all the time required in my quest to avoid prison time (just joking), I had to reschedule some classes. One I lectured at today from 4 to 5:30 p.m. So, I rode my bicycle home at night. It’s very exhilirating to ride a bike at night in Meknes; it gets ones blood flowing. You just have to make sure that it doesn’t flow in the cold, hard streets. It’s almost as much fun as riding on the back of Bangkok motor bikes. But riding a bike here, you’re in control of your own fate, so to speak. You need 5 eyes to keep a look out for all that is going on around you. Not only is the motor traffic bad, but worse are the pedestrians, who walk willy-nilly everywhere and are just as likely to pop out in front of you as is a taxi.
In Bangkok I was most surprised to see elephants wandering around on the main thoroughfares. In Morocco different obstacles present themselves. So tonight I’m riding home and I’m almost at my apartment building. My attention wanders a bit. All of a sudden I look up and looming before me in the shadows is a camel! A large one, too, with its handlers. Luckily, I saw it in time enough to avoid it, otherwise I would have rear-ended it. Wow! Elephants in Bangkok and camels in Meknes, on or near the main drag, right in front of you, reach out and touch them but don’t get run over by the traffic. What do you have to compare, Montana? Yes, bison and griz, sure, but meandering down the main streets of Great Falls or Glendive, majestic traffic hazards just waiting to snap up the unwary pedestrian or bicyclist? (I do, of course, exclude the deer herds of residential Missoula.)
What a wonderful world. Check it out. More later.
Yes, it’s that time of year again–the advent of Chinese Yellow Dust season, when dust blowing from the Gobi desert sweeps across not only China, but South Korea and Japan as well. The Korean Meteorological Administration issued a dust warning for the country, and I, not thinking about the dust until afterward, jogged outside today for about 30 minutes between classes. I probably inhaled 20 pounds of the stuff. You could hardly see the nearby mountains because of the haze; it’s as bad as a Montana forest fire. A former Chinese Prime Minister predicts that the capital city of Beijing will have to be abandoned in a few decades due to the advance of the Gobi desert.
Not much else happening here. The cherry blossoms are very near to blooming, so I’ll post some photos of their beauty as soon as they open up. Baseball’s Opening Day saw the mighty Yanks knock off Boston. Unfortunately, Rivera blew a couple of saves–that’s rather worrisome. Should be a fun season, though. Since I signed up for the MLB.com game feeds, I’ll be able to see most of the games. My brother Randy, with nothing better to do, keeps sending me taunting emails about the Yanks, which I refuse to respond to. I don’t think he has a favorite team–the former Yankee fan, now a screeching turncoat, only seems to root against the Yankees, but not FOR anyone else. He joins the ranks of untold thousands in that futile endeavor.
The big earthquake in Indonesian waters a little bit back brought this email from my friend Palm on Ko Sukorn in Thailand (I edited out some of his fractured English grammar and spelling for clarity):
How are you, Ron? Hope you are good. For me now, I am sick.
Do you know about earthquake. I am afraid very much. And every body
gone to the mountain again. Now, I sleep with my mother every night.
Because, I am afraid tsunami, Ron. And I am thinking tsunami is not come.
And what about you? You saw earthquake or not? In sukorn no have tourists and it’s raining every day.
Geez, I really feel for those people. If you’re going to take a vacation in Thailand this year, go to Ko Sukorn. You’ll love it for its beauty (though there are more beautiful beaches in Thailand), but you’ll want to stay because of its people. More later.
Yup, I got them all posted to the Photo Gallery these past few days. Now, I’m going to go into the blog and post photos to the relevant entries. I’m nothing if not thorough (or anal, as some might say  ).
I’m keeping in touch with my friend Palm on Ko Sukorn, and he told me in a recent email that there are many tourists there right now. That’s great news and just what they need! He usually gets laid off during the low season (June-October), but finds another job in Thailand. He invited me to visit him wherever he might be working. I’ll do so. Right after or right before I visit Nai in Laos. It’s good to have friends in other countries, and if they ever want to visit Korea (or the Middle East) or the U.S., it will be my pleasure to host them.
I also sent in my first job application to the Middle East for a position starting in September. This one is at a university in the United Arab Emirates, a relatively safe haven in that part of the world. Pay is great, free housing, and many other benefits, including 2 1/2 months paid vacation. (Why is it that workers in Europe get all this marvelous time off from work and laborers in the U.S. are lucky to scrounge 7-10 days vacation time from their stingy bosses?)
The weather is still cold here, but tomorrow’s forecast calls for 1 or 2 inches of rain and temperatures in the high 40′s. Spring is just around the corner, I hope. More later.
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